JPMorgan to Increase Headcount in Corporate Banking Across Asia

JPMorgan JPM intends to grow its corporate banking team across Asia next year to capitalize on increasing business prospects from intra-Asia trades, the innovation economy and payment services. This was stated by Oliver Brinkmann, Asia-Pacific co-head of global corporate banking at the company, in an interview with South China Morning Post.

Details About JPM's Strategic Expansion

Brinkmann said, "We aim to add 10 percent headcount to the corporate banking team across Asia next year."

The increased headcount will be dispersed across the team's four divisions: large-cap, mid-cap, innovation economy and subsidiary banking.

In subsidiary banking, the majority of the new talent will be allocated to Southeast Asia and India, while in local corporate banking, additional headcount will be focusing on North Asia, Greater China, Japan, India and Australia, according to Brinkmann.

JPMorgan's Rationale Behind This Move

According to Kerwin Clayton, Asia-Pacific co-head of global corporate banking at JPMorgan, this move aims to enhance the company's client base by offering a comprehensive set of wholesale banking products and solutions to clients of all magnitudes.

Brinkmann further added, "The velocity of investments has changed. There's also much more focus on building out a home-based, Asian business for many of the Asian corporates." Consequently, the bank is investing its resources via broader subsidiary banking and country-specific desks to tap into emerging growth economies such as Korea, Japan, India and China.

The innovation economy has been a key element in JPMorgan's strategy in the Asia region, which is home to more than 500 unicorns — start-ups with a valuation of more than $1 billion.

The contribution to the global banking industry by these fast-growing newer firms is meaningful and rising. Thus, establishing relationships with them at an early developmental stage is quite crucial, as per Clayton.

Further, JPM's corporate banking payment business is another growth driver, which is about to generate $20 billion in revenues globally for the bank, per Brinkmann. "Large corporates in Asia-Pacific hold about US$8 trillion of cash equivalent, and we can offer secure payment ecosystems for global business operations", he stated.

JPMorgan is using its innovation hub in Singapore to enhance these services. The hub includes a global cybersecurity center and the blockchain platform Onyx to streamline payment processes.

JPM's Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Year to date, shares of JPM have risen 24.3% compared with the industry's rise of 20.4%. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Currently, JPM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Restructuring Initiatives by Other Banks

Earlier this month, Columbia Banking System, Inc.'s COLB subsidiary, Umpqua Bank, announced expansion across the Western region with new branches opening in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa by the end of 2024.

Arizona has several fast-growing sectors, including semiconductors, leisure and hospitality alternative energy, healthcare, warehouse distribution centers and data centers. It also hosts a growing number of data centers, serving as a foundation for the emerging generative AI industry. This positions the region as an ideal location for COLB's long-term expansion strategy.

Similarly, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. BK announced its plans to launch Alts Bridge, an extensive data, software, and services solution. It will cater to rising demand from wealth intermediaries seeking simplified access to alternative and private market investment products via simplified end-to-end investment experience.

This BNY platform has been designed to integrate seamlessly into intermediaries' existing desktops, starting with BNY Pershing X's Wove advisory platform and NetX360+, incorporating cutting-edge AI and analytics tools to mitigate manual processing and error rates.

It offers a powerful solution to investors, advisors and the home office by providing access to a curated, extensive suite of leading alternative and private asset managers worldwide.

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